Stenciling apparatus



ug. 13, 1935. E M. HOMMEL y 2,011,363l

STENQILING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 28, 1934 I 2 Sheets-Sheet l 521/ INVENTOR u 6 d/M Aug, 13 1935. I v E. M. HoMMEL 2,011,353

STENCI'LING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 28, 1934 2 sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR BMMMMW ATTO RN EYAS' Patented Aug. 13, 1 935 STENCILING APPARATUS Ernest M. Hommel, Pittsburgh, Pa.,l assignor to The 0.Hommel Company, a corporation of Pennsylvania 4 Application Anglia 28,1934, serial No. '141,762

14 Claims.

My invention relates to apparatus for the ap- 5 plicatio of characters and designed decorations upon bottles, jars and other, objects. 'I'he invention is more particularly directed to apparatus for applying decorations of vitreous color material to an-object of glass, so that ,the decora'.- tion may be vitrifled and fused in the surface of the. glassI in accordance with well-known practice.

. The object of the invention is to provide simplifled apparatus oi!` this sort, to the end that the application of such decorations may be more readily accomplished, and accomplished with greater accuracy. I aim especially at means of this kind for decorating a cylindrical or curved surface.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. I is a View in planfrom above of apparatus embodying the invention; Fig. II is a view of the apparatus incross-section, taken on `the plane II-II, Fig. I, and shown to larger scale; Fig. III is a view takenlat right angle to the view in Fig. II, and

shows the apparatus partly in side elevationand partly in vertical medial section; Fig. IV is a view of the apparatus in side elevation, and indicates an alternative use; Fig. AV is a view'in plan, showing a modification ln the pad 'element of the structure; Fig, VI is a view to smaller scale showing in cross-section a modification in the apparatus;l Fig. VII is a longitudinal sectional view of -the modiiiedapparatus', taken on the plane 35 VII--VII of Fig. VI; Fig. VIII ls longitudinal sectional lview of another modification of the apparatus; and Figs. IXl and X are views comparable with Figs. VI and VII, respectively, illustratin'gstill another modification.

In accordance with the invention, I provide a pad I of felt, or of other suitable absorbent and elastic material. The pad l is set in a shallow pan 2, and its effective face la in this case is a fiat face lying a substantial interval (approximately abovel the rim of the pan. The pad I isl saturated with the vitreous material which is to beapplied in predetermined pattern upon the object to be' decorated-which object in this case is a cylindrical glass jar 3. The vitreous material comprises a vitriiiable pigment (or a pigment mixed' with vitrinable substance) carried by a liquid vehicle, such as balsem copaiba or dammar varnish. An oily pigment mixture of this nature readily-adheres to a glass surface.

Immediately above the effective face la of the (ci. i-125) pad, a screen 4 is supported, and in this case the screen consists of silk fabric drawn taut upon and secured- (say by means of staples or tacks 5) tol a rectangular frame 6 of wood. The frame ll is so supported relatively to the pan 2 that the screen 4 extends at an interval of 11g" above the face of the pad and in a plane parallel thereto; The screen may consist of a fine-mesh metal screen, or it may be a screen of fabric other than silk. In any case, vthe screen is flexible, to the 10 end that an applied object may be pressed upon the pigment-saturatedA pad. Provision is made that the screen shall be impervious to liquid, save in the areas 'l which in the pattern of the decoration to be applied are allowed to remain pervious. 'I'his is accomplished, conveniently, by applying upon the upper face of the silk fabric a. thin coating 8 of nitrocellulose lacquer, leaving only v the patterned areas 1 uncoated. Alternately, the

intended pattern may be cut in a thin sheet of suitable material, such' as shellacked or waxed paper (or cardboard), and the resulting stencil may be applied to the `face of the silk fabric. Again, it will be understood that, by means of well-known photographic processes, the predetermined design may be provided in a sensitized fabric which before photographic treatment is. impervious, and after treatment is pervious only in the patterned areas (1).

In service the frame 6 is so located that the 30- pervious areas 1 of the screen lie-immediately over the effective face of the impregnated pad i.

It will be understood that the screen (l, 8) is drawn and maintained taut upon the frame 6, and in such .taut condition the screen serves as a 3g; yielding support upon which the jar 3 may be rolled, conveniently under the palm of the hand. rAs the jar is so rolled across the screen, the screen yields downward (in the manner indicated at 9 in Fig. III) and is progressively pressed into con- 0. tact with the face of the pad I. Indeed, under the inuence of the advancing jar the pad itself I is compressed, and the vitreous pigment with whichit is saturated is exuded through so much of the screen as is pervious and upon the surface of the jar. That is to say, as the jar is rolled across the pervious areas 1 of the screen, the

sticky pigment material is squeezed through the screen, and is progressively picked up by the cylindrical face of the advancing jar, so that, upon traversing the pervious areas of the screen, the` jar is decorated with the moist pigment material.

In case the design is a two-color design, one color is first applied and dried upon the object, and then the second color is applied; thereupon,

both applications of vitreous pigment having been dried thoroughly, the object is fired and the twocolor decoration is vitrified. In such manner a plurality of. colors may be successively applied; decorations of elaborate color schemes become practical, and the field of the artist is widened. Indeed, in many cases, I have found that two or more colors may be applied simultaneously.

'I'he decoration illustrated in Fig. I aiords an example. A is to appear in red within the circle, say of black. Insuch case I employ a pad which is modiiled in accordance with the structure shown in Fig. V. The modified pad comprises a plurality of pad elements 50 and 5I ;v each pad element -is impregnated with an oily mixture of vitreous pigment of distinct color, and each pad element is supported in its own pan or pan compartment.

In the illustration the pad element 50, advantageously, is located in an inner pan compartment 52, whilefthe pad I is held in an outer pan compartaient"- 53. The inner pad 50 is impregnated with red pigment, and the outer pad 5I with black; the proportions of the pads are such that in service the pad 50 underlies the letter A in the screen 4, while the outer pad 5| underlies the encompassing circle. Accordingly, when the jar 3 is rolled across the screen', the design (1, 1)v is applied toits surface in the desired red and black colors. In this manner designs of two or more colors may .in one operation be applied to objects having a cylindrical or round surface.

While I am particularly concerned with the decoration of round objects, it should be noted that my apparatus may be employed with advantage in decorating flat objects. Suppose, for example, that the ilat plate of glass, shown in Fig. IV, is to be decorated with the' circle A" design 1, 1 of Fig, I;l it is merely necessary to lay the plate upon the screen, and to press it downward, as indicated by the arrow (Fig. IV). The*i vitreous paint may thus be applied in the desired pattern to the surface ofA plate 40. Of course, care must be exercised in the'operation, to prevent lateral shifting of the plate and consequent smearing of the work. l

In the pattern areas 'I the fabric of the screen 4 comprises ne open-work through which the ydecorating material is exuded; upon moving through the interstices of such open-work the decorating vmaterial normally adheres to the surface of the glass object in the form of microscopic dots or islands, which lend to the applied decoration a suggestion of the open-work fabric through which thematerial was exuded. It has been discovered that this eiect may be obviated by presenting an excess of decorating niaterial on the facel of the pad I; that is, more than the usual or required amount of decorating material is made accessible upon the face of the pad-the pad ma-y be considered to be notonly saturated but flooded with decorating material. The consequence and effect of this so-called ooded supply of ldecorating material is that the microscopic islands or dots applied upon the surface of the object are overcharged with the liquid material, whereforel the islands merge or run together soon after application, and provide on the face of the object a smooth uninterrupted fllrn of decorating material in.the desired pattern.

It has been discovered that, alternately, a rigid or semi-rigid surface bearing a heavy, flooded,

coating of the decorating material may be used with good results. Referring to Figs. VI and Let it be assumed that the character VII, a rigid platen III of metal, or of rigid or semi-rigid rubber, `may be organized with the stencil screen 4. The top of the platen'IIl presents an extended surface area. which normally lies an interval from the taut screen 4; the surface of the platen is providedV with a heavy coating II of decorating material. 'I'he article 3 is rolled across the stencil 4 in the manner already described,.and the stencil yields (under the pressure of the object) from vthe plane of its extent and into contact with liquid-bearing surface. And such contact is, in the case of the cylindrical article 3, a line contact which, during the rolling of the article 3, advances across the platen.

'I'he body or quantity of decorating material II applied to the face of the platen is not such a thin lm as is usually applied by an inking roller;

it is a heavyl lm or layer of viscous material which is upwards Aof 1/64 of an inch or more in depth, and in the following claims I use the word flooded as descriptive of the heavy application of viscous decorating material. Advantageously, an adequate coating may be obtained by immersing the surface of the platen I0 in a pool of the decorating material., Indeed, I provide a reservoir I2 beneath the screen 4, and the platen is supported upon one or more plunger rods I3.which extend -through packing glands. I4 in the bottom of the reservoir. After each decorating operation, orl less frequently in some cases, the plungers I 3 are lowered, bringing the face ofthe platen I0 beneath the surface S of the supply of decorating material in the reservoir I2; the liquid decorating material of the pool overflows the face of the platen, whereupon the platen is elevated again. A heavy coating or layer of decorating material remains upon the surface of the platen, and the decorating operation may go forward with these-called ex- -cess quantity of decorating material cooperating with the stencil screen.

Normally, the decoratingmaterial is a thick,

viscous, or soupy fluid including vitriiiable solids in suspension. The thickness of the coating on the surface of the platen after immersion is relational to the viscosity of thenuid material, and I have found that by varying the proportions of the solids in the iiuid materialvarying the viscosity of the liquid in the reservoir-the depth of the coatings II successively applied to the platenA may be regulated. Conveniently, an agitator I5 may be rotated to maintain the decorating mixture homogeneous.

In an alternative arrangement, the platen I0 is slidable in ways I6, as indicated in Fig. VIII; the' tends transversely of the path of the platen; the

orice I9 is subject to the control of a gate 20 which is swung aside as the platen is drawn from beneath the screen 4, whereby a heavy, flooded coating II is applied to the surface of the platen. During the 'return movement of the platen, the gate 20 is closed, and a rubber squeegee 2l may be organized to smooth out and distribute to uniform depth the decorating material applied during the outward travel of the platen.

In still another modification, an endless band 22 (Figs. IX and X) is mounted upon two spaced- 25 secured rigidly upon cross bars 26, .the relative positions of lthe parts `being such that the upper` face of the band lies an interval below the stencil screen. ,The band in its lower reach is immersed in the bath 28 of liquid decorating material in the reservoir 24, and suitable means are provided for causing the intermittent travel of the band. For purposes of illustration, I show the shaft of one roller 23 provided with a hand crank 21. Ac-

oordingly, the lower reach of the continuous band 22 may be caused to travel through the bath 28,

-Whereby its lower surface is coated with the desired heavy, flooded layer of decorating material,

and upon travelling upward around one of the rollers 23, the portion of the band leaving the bath moves into the upper reach, and presents its coated surface upward. Thus, a heavy layer of decorating material is provided over an extended area beneath the screen 4, and, travel of the band being intermitted, the article 3 is provided with decoration in the manner already described. And, after each decorating operation, or when the excess supply of decorating material on the upper surface of the band is depleted, the band is again shifted to bring a new expanse of decorating material into position of service.

I have found that ,in using my apparatus the vitreous pigment is applied in precise Aaccordance with the predetermined pattern, and that no highI degree of skill is required to provide a round or curved article with a nicely defined decoration. The moist pigment mixture thus applied to the article is allowed to dry, and then is fired in accordance with usualpractice, whereby the decoration is vitriiled and becomes an integral part of the articles glass surface. It is contemplated thatA the liquid vehicle (balsam copaiba, or dammar var nish) may be used without pigment or vitriiiable substance in my apparatus, and that such viscous liquid vehicle may be applied in pattern to the article to be decorated. Pigmented, vitriable substance in powdered lform may then be dusted over the surface of the article, and so much of the surface as is coated with the liquid vehicle will retain the pigment material, whereupon drying andfiring may proceed in the usual manner.

To avoid prolixity in the following claims,- the Words liquid vitriflable material are employed to cover the use of the vehicle alone, or the use of some liquid mixture which is treated after application, to provide the contemplated vitriiiable decoration.

I claim as my invention:

1. In apparatus for applying decoration upon an object, the combination of an elastic pad of absorbent material saturated with a pigmented liquid, a flexible stencil drawn taut and independently supported an interval from the. effective face of said'pad, said stencil being of substantially greater effective area or expanse than the area or expanse of said object to be decorated, and providing a yielding support adaptedy to give under pressure of said object into compressing engagement with said pad.

2. In apparatus for applying vitreous decoration upon an object, the combination of an elastic pad of absorbent material saturated with a vehicle adapted `to carry pigmented vitreous material, a flexible stencil drawn taut and supported independently of and an interval from the effective face of said pad, said flexible stencil being of substantially greater expanse than-the 4face of said elastic pad, and providing a yielding support .adapted'to give under pressure of said object into compressing engagement with said pad.

3. Apparatus. for use in applying a vitriable decoration uponan object, which apparatus includes in combination a container or pan having a shallow recess, an elastic pad of absorbent material positioned in said recess, said pad being saturated with a liquid vehicle carryingvitrifiable substance, a iiexiblestencil drawn taut and supported independently and freeof the effective face of said. pad, said iiexible stencil beingadapted, under the pressure of the object being decorated, tov yield from the plane of its expanse and compress said elastic pad.

4. Apparatus for use in applying a vitriflable decoration upon-a round object, which apparatus includes in combinationa container having'a lshallow recess,van elastic pad of absorbent material positioned in said recess, said pad being saturated with the material to be applied in liquid state, a flexible stencil drawn taut and supported independently and free of the falce of said pad, said flexible stencil being adapted, under pressure produced by the rolling advance of said object thereupon, to yield from the plane of :'ts expanse and to compress said elastic pad on a line advancing with such rolling object.

5. The structure of claim 4, in which the plane of said stencil lies substantiallyparallel to and at an interval from the effective face of said pad.

6. The structure of claim 4, in which the face of said pad lies outward of the mouth of said recess, and the plane of said stencil lies substantially parallel to and at an interval from-the effective face of said pad.

7. Apparatus for use in applying a vitriflable vitriflable material, and a flexible stencil sheetv with open-work pattern drawn taut and supported an interval from said surface, said flexible stencil being adapted to yield from the plane of its extent, under the pressure of the object to be decorated applied to it, and into contact with said liquid-bearing surface, whereby the liquid brought into contact through the interstices of the openwcrk pattern of the stencil with the surface of l the object is transferred in desired pattern to said last-mentioned surface.

8. Apparatus for use in applying a. vitrifiable decoration uponv an object, said apparatus including in combination a body adapted to present over an extended surface a quantity of liquid writriable material, and a' flexible stencil sheet with 'open-work .pattern drawn taut and supported an interval from said surface, said flexible stencil being adapted to yield, under the pressure of the object to be decorated applied to it, and to move so much of the area of the stencil as is engaged immediately beneath the object from the plane of extent of the stencil and into contact with said liquid-bearing surface, whereby the 1 liquid brought into contact through the interdecoration upon an object, said apparatus includ-- ing in combination a body adapted to present over an extended area a surface flooded with liquid vitriiable material, and a flexible stencil sheet impervious in main and pervious in pattern drawn taut and supported an interval from said ooded surface, said flexible stencil being adapted to yield from the plane of its extent, under the pressure of the object to. be decorated applied to t,and into contact with said flooded surface, w ereby the liquid is applied to the face of said object in desired pattern.

10. Apparatus for use in applying a vitriable decoration upon a round object, said apparatus including in combination a body adapted to present over an extended surface a quantity of liquid vitrifiable material, and a flexible stencil sheet with open-work pattern drawn taut and supported `an interval from said surface, said flexible stencil being adapted, under the pressure of the object to be decorated rolled thereupon, to yield from the plane of its extent and into contact with said liquidbearing surface on aline advancing with the rolled object, whereby the liquid brought into contact through the interstices of the open-work pattern of thestencil with the advancing facelof the object is progressively transferred in desiredpattern to said face.

l1. Apparatus for use in applying a vitriflable decoration upon a round object, said apparatus including in combination a body adapted to present overan extended area a surface flooded with liquid vitriable material, and a stencil sheet impervious in main and pervious in pattern drawn taut and supported an interval from said flooded surface, said flexible stencil being adapted, under the pressure of the object to be decorated rolled thereupon, to yield from the plane of its extent and into contact with the flooded surface on a line advancing with the rolled object.

l2. Stencil apparatus comprising a body presenting an extended surface, a flexible stencil sheet drawn taut and lying an interval from said surface, and means for flooding said surface with relatively viscous decorating material.

13. Stencil apparatus comprising a body presenting an extended surface, a flexible stencil sheet drawn taut and lying an intervalfrom said surface, and-means lfor providing said sur-` face with a flooded coating of decorating material, said stencil sheet being adapted over a portion of its area. to yield from the plane of its extent and into contact with said ilooded coating.

14. Stencil apparatus comprising a body presenting a surface, and a flexible stencil extending adjacent to and lying an interval from said surface, a reservoir containing a-liquid pool of decorating material, and means for immersing said surface in said pool, to provide the surface with a. coating of decorating material for cooperation with said stencil.

s ERNEST M. HOMIMEIJ. 

